Disposable headrest cover with improved attaching means

ABSTRACT

This headrest cover has a disposable non-woven fabric with a yarn sewed to it for attaching the cover to a seat by entangling the yarn with attaching means connected to the back of the seat. The attaching means can be a multitude of small hooks such as &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;Velcro&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; hooks. A yarn which is preferably untwisted is folded back and forth in a closed S contour transversely of an attaching zone bounded on the top and bottom by substantially parallel lines and having a length running crosswise of the headrest cover. A plurality of rows of stitching hold the yarn on the cover. Because of the plural rows of stitching and the tortuous course of the yarn, the strands for engaging the hooks cover a wider zone and multiply the opportunities for entanglement of the attaching hooks in the threads and/or yarn strands.

Jannoni Apr. 16, 1974 DISPOSABLE HEADREST COVER WITH 1 IMPROVED ATTACHING MEANS lnventor: Richard Jannoni, Edison, NJ.

Assignee: Blessings Corporation, New York,

Filed: Feb. 20, 1973 Appl. No.: 334,079

US. Cl. 297/220, 297/DIG. 6 Int. Cl. A47c 7/62 Field of Search 297/222-223,

297/DIG. 6; 24/204 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/1967 Struble 297/220 Primary Examiner-Francis K. Zugel Attorney, Agent, or FirmSandoe, Hopgood & Calimafde 57 ABSTRACT This headrest cover has a disposable non-woven fabric with a yarn sewed to it for attaching the cover to a seat by entangling the yarn with attaching means connected to the back of the seat. The attaching means can be a multitude of small hooks such as Velcro" hooks. A yarn which is preferably untwisted is folded back and forth in a closed S contour transversely of an attaching zone bounded on the top and bottom by substantially parallel lines and having a length running crosswise of the headrest cover. A plurality of rows of stitching hold the yarn on the cover. Because of the plural rows of stitching and the tortuous course of the yarn, the strands for engaging the hooks cover a wider zone and multiply the opportunities for entanglement of the attaching hooks in the threads and/0r yarn strands.

6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures DISPOSABLE HEADREST COVER WITH IMPROVED ATTACHING MEANS BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION For disposable headrest covers for aircraft and train seats, detachable fastening means are used to hold the covers on the seats. One common expedient is to attach a group of hooks permanently to the back of the headrest of a seat. Multiple rows of hooks, such as Velcro hooks are commonly used. A part of the headrest cover is detachably connected with the hooks. Usually a yarn is secured to the headrest cover in position to entangle with the hooks.

The problem is to have fastening means that can be attached quickly and conveniently; that can be easily detached for disposal and replacement; and yet to have the connection strong enough so that it will not come loose in the ordinary use of the headrest cover. Textured yarns have been used with loops that engage the hooks. Loosely twisted yarns have been used, attached to the cover by adhesive and others attached by sewing. Parallel rows of yarn have been used to increase the area of entanglement so that the cover is more securely held on the headrest and can be attached more easily. The attachments have not been sufficiently reliable. The covers of the prior art have come off too easily.

This invention provides aheadrest cover with an improved connection to the headrest. A yarn, preferably untwisted, is attached to the cover with the yarn disposed along a tortuous path across the width of the cover. The preferred construction has the yarn folded back and forth into S curves that are very close to one another and that preferably touch one another along much of the length of the yarn. The yarn is applied to the cover by a loop casting spreader" on a sewing machine that secures the yarn to the cover by rows of double chain lock stitching coordinated with the loop casting spreader.

The yarn used is preferably a tow which is a continuous loose loop of synthetic fiber filaments drawn together without twisting. The absence of twisting locates the filaments of the yarn in position to be more readily entangled by the hooks on the headrest, the tortuous path widens the area of yarn available for entanglement with the hooks so that the cover does not have to be positioned accurately when being attached; and there are filaments in position to engage more hooks. Stitching is also available for entanglement with the hooks.

Construction of this invention can be made by a sewing machine in a single pass, thus insuring a low cost of manufacture by keeping down the amount of labor involved.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will appearor be pointed out as the description proceeds.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS In the drawings, forming a part hereof, in which like reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all the views:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of an aircraft seat with a headrest cover attached in accordance'with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a greatly enlarged, diagrammatic fragmentary view of a portion of the headrest cover of FIG. 1, and showing the attaching means in larger scale;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary front view of the yarn which is applied to the headrest cover and illustrating the manner in which the yarn is attached to the cover;

FIG. 4 is a view of the back of the portion of the headrest cover shown in FIG. 3; and

FIGS. 5 and 6 are sectional views taken on the lines 5-5 and 6-6, respectively, of FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 shows an aircraft seat 10 having a back 12, the upper portion of which forms a headrest 14. A headrest cover 16 is located in position to cover the portion of the headrest against which a passengers head has contact when leaning back in the seat. The headrest cover 16 extends over the top of the headrest and it is connected to the rear side of the headrest 14 by fastening means indicated generally by the reference character 18.

The back of the headrest 14 has a plurality of small hooks 22 which are in rows and which extend from and are secured to a base plate 24 permanently attached to the rearward side of the headrest 14. The support 24 and its hooks 22, which may be Velcro," form the permanent part of the fastening means 18.

The portion of the fastening means attached to the headrest cover 16 includes a yarn 26 sewed to the headrest cover 16 by stitching 30.

In order to have the headrest cover inexpensive, it is preferably made of a sheet 34 of non-woven material which is flexible and pliant enough to lie against the headrest of the back of the seat.

FIG. 3 shows a front view of the surface of the headrest cover sheet 34 to which the yarn 26 is attached. The yarn 26 follows a tortuous path which is formed by a loop casting spreader on the sewing machine which applies the yarn to the sheet 34. The operation of the spreader gives the path of the yarn 26 a configuration of successive S-shaped formations when viewed sideways. These S-shaped formations lie between parallel imaginary lines 38 shown in FIG. 3.

The parallel lines 38 extend across the width of the headrest cover and the yarn 26 preferably extends for the full width of the headrest cover so that the covers can be made from a web of non-woven material which is cut successively to form individual headrest covers; though in actual practice the hooks for attaching the headrest covers to the headrest of the seats do not extend across the full width of the headrest cover so that only the mid-portion of the zone of yarn 26 is generally used for an attaching means to the hooks.

Looking at FIG. 3 from the side; that is, with the figure turned at to the location on the drawing sheet, it will be observed that every other S-shaped configuration is shaped like an ordinary letter S and the S- shaped configuration between alternate ones are re versed; that is, they are like a letter S but with the letter made backwards. This regular reversal of the course of the yarn 26 causes the yarn to cover most of the area of the sheet 34 between the parallel lines 28. In the illustrated construction, the successive runs of the yarn 26 as it extends back and forth between the parallel lines 38 causes successive runs to touch or substantially touch one another along much of the confronting sides of the successive runs.

The yarn 26 is secured to the sheet 34 by a plurality of rows of stitching 30, three such rows being shown in FIG. 3.

The upper row of stitching 30 extends through the sheet 34 at locations 40', and the yarn reverses its direction around the stitching at the locations 40 to form the upper reversals of the yarn. Similarly, the lowermost line of stitching 30 extends through the sheet 34 at locations 44 which are in staggered relation to the locations 40 so that the change of direction of the yarn 26 can be around the stitches at the locations 44 midway between the transverse positions of the locations 40, as illustrated in FIG. 3.

The middle line of stitching 30 extends through sheet 34 at locations 46 which are in line with the locations 44 but could just as easily be in line with the locations 40 since there is no reversal of the direction of the yarn at these locations 46. The purpose of the middle row of stitching 30 is to secure the yarn 26 to the sheet 34 more securely since it is the stitching 30 which ultimately secures the headrest cover to the headrest when the hooks 22 are entangled in the filaments of the yan 26. Th headrest cover cannot come loose from the entangled yarn 26 because the stitching 30 maintains the yarn 26 firmly connected to the sheet 34. There can be more stitching in addition to the stitching 30, if desired; but it is better to have the yarn sewed to the sheet 34 with stitches that do not bind the yarn down tight against the sheet 34 because the fluffier the yarn is, the easier it is to have it entangled with the hooks on the back of the headrest.

The construction shown in FIG. 3, with the successive reverse runs of the yarn close together and touching one another has the advantage that it obtains an extensive area of yarn over the zone between the parallel lines 38. As will be observed in FIG. 3, most of the area of the seat 34 between the lines 38 is covered with yarn 26. Another advantage is that there are filaments of the yarn extending in every direction, at one place or another. in planes which are parallel to the face of the sheet 34. It will also be evident that the middle row of stitching 30, whether the locations 46 at which this stitching extends through the sheet 34, are in line with the locations 40 or the locations 44, this middle stitch 30 holds the runs of yarn from moving away from one another as well as moving away from the sheet 34.

In the preferred construction, the thread used for the stitching 30 is substantially heavier gauge than the filaments of the yarn 26, but preferably small enough to become entangled with the hooks 22 on the back of the headrest. Thus the structure shown in FIG. 3 makes the stitching 30, as well as the filaments of the yarn 26 part of the fastening means that actively engage with the hooks to secure the headrest cover to the headrest.

FIG. 4 shows the reverse side of the sheet 34 to that shown in FIG. 3. The double chain lock stitching is shown diagrammatically since it cannot be shown in detail on the scale of the drawing and such stitching is a standard form of stitching well-known in connection with sewing machines so that no detail illustration of it is necessary for a complete understanding of this invention.

The gauge of the filament or floss of which the yarn 26 is made is not critical so long as it is fine enough to be engaged by the hooks 22. Very fine filaments are not as strong as coarser filaments but this is compensated by the fact that a multiplicity of filaments are engaged by the same hook if the filaments are very fine.

Information on the yarn 26 has been given earlier in this specification. The untwisted yarns used for the preferred embodiment of this invention are used by rug manufactuers and are often referred to as rug yarns. The yarn adopted for the commercial construction of this invention isa rug yarn made by American Enka. It is a nylon texture yarn and is sold by American Enka under the designation Code 576; standard 9 quality; 2500-136 SBYRG-ENKA. One advantage of using synthetic fibers to make the yarn is that longer length fibers can be obtained by using synthetic fibers in place of natural fibers. The longer length fibers adds to the integrity of the yarn and provides greater holding power when engaged by the hooks on the back of the headrest.

The preferred construction of the invention has been illustrated and described, but changes and modifications can be made and some features can be used in different combinations without departing from the invention as defined in the claims.

What is claimed is:

I. A disposable headrest cover comprising a sheet of material for covering an area of a headrest, detachable fastening means near the upper end of the cover in position to engage a multitude of hooks in closely spaced rows and extending from and permanently secured to the headrest, said fastening means comprising a yarnlike material of a cross section too large to engage the hooks, but formed of a bunch of filaments extending between the sides of the cover and along a tortuous path between parallel lines that extend widthwise of the cover, said tortuous path of the yarn-like material extending back and forth across the area between the parallel lines and having reverse bends where the yarnlike material changes its direction from one parallel line toward the other, the yarn-like material between successive bends substantially touching the material between the next bends whereby the yarn-like material covers most of the surface of the area of the headrest cover between said parallel lines, and the individual filaments of the yarn-like material being of a cross section small enough to engage the hooks and being loosely related to one another so that the yarn-like material is fluffy for easier entanglement of the hooks in the material, and a plurality of rows of stitching extending generally parallel to said parallel lines and that hold the yarn-like material secured to the cover, the stitching extending over the filaments of the yarn-like material and through the sheet at locations which hold the filaments in position along the tortuous path between said parallel lines with filaments of the yarn-like material between the stitches exposed for enganglement with the hooks on the headrest when the yarn-like material is pressed against the hooks on the headrest.

2. The headrest cover described in claim 1 characterized by the tortuous path consisting of generally S- shaped configuration, the yarn-like material being continuous and the successive runs of the S-shaped configurations toward and from said parallel lines touching adjacent runs at some locations and substantially touching adjacent runs at other locations.

3. The headrest cover described in claim 1 characterized by the sheet being of non-woven fabric, and the yarn-like material being located at a distance from the top edge of the sheet.

6 4. The headrest cover described in claim 1 characterside of the sheet. lied y the smelling including subs'tamiany Parallel 6. The headrest cover described in claim 1 characterrows of double chain lock stitches.

5. The headrest cover described in claim 4 characteri y ized by the stitching including one row of stitching ap- 5 a commuous group Ptisymhem fiber filaments plied by a needle working from one side of the sheet drawn together Without twlstmgand a second row applied by a needle from the other ized by the yarn-like material being a tow comprising 

1. A disposable headrest cover comprising a sheet of material for covering an area of a headrest, detachable fastening means near the upper end of the cover in position to engage a multitude of hooks in closely spaced rows and extending from and permanently secured to the headrest, said fastening means comprising a yarn-like material of a cross section too large to engage the hooks, but formed of a bunch of filaments extending between the sides of the cover and along a tortuous path between parallel lines that extend widthwise of the cover, said tortuous path of the yarn-like material extending back and forth across the area between the parallel lines and having reverse bends where the yarn-like material changes its direction from one parallel line toward the other, the yarn-like material between successive bends substantially touching the material between the next bends whereby the yarn-like material covers most of the surface of the area of the headrest cover between said parallel lines, and the individual filaments of the yarn-like material being of a cross section small enough to engage the hooks and being loosely related to one another so that the yarn-like material is fluffy for easier entanglement of the hooks in the material, and a plurality of rows of stitching extending generally parallel to said parallel lines and that hold the yarnlike material secured to the cover, the stitching extending over the filaments of the yarn-like material and through the sheet at locations which hold the filaments in position along the tortuous path between said parallel lines with filaments of the yarn-like material between the stitches exposed for enganglement with the hooks on the headrest when the yarn-like material is pressed against the hooks on the headrest.
 2. The headrest cover described in claim 1 characterized by the tortuous path consisting of generally S-shaped configuration, the yarn-like material being continuous and the successive runs of the S-shaped configurations toward and from said parallel lines touching adjacent runs at some locations and substantially touching adjacent runs at other locations.
 3. The headrest cover described in claim 1 characterized by the sheet being of non-woven fabric, and the yarn-like material being located at a distance from the top edge of the sheet.
 4. The headrest cover described in claim 1 characterized by the stitching including substantially parallel rows of double chain lock stitches.
 5. The headrest cover described in claim 4 characterized by the stitching including one row of stitching applied by a needle working from one side of the sheet and a second row applied by a needle from the other side of the sheet.
 6. The headrest cover described in claim 1 characterized by the yarn-like material being a tow comprising a continuous loose group of synthetic fiber filaments drawn together without twisting. 